Federal Register / Vol. 73, No.
8 / Friday, January 11, 2008 / Notices 2061
West Seventh Avenue, #13, Anchorage,
Alaska 99513–7504.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: The
Bureau of Land Management by phone
at 907–271–5960, or by e-mail at
ak.blm.conveyance@ak.blm.gov. Persons
who use a telecommunication device
(TTD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–
8330, 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, to contact the Bureau of Land
Management.
Barbara Opp Waldal,
Land Law Examiner, Branch of Land Transfer
Adjudication I.
[FR Doc. E8–328 Filed 1–10–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–$$–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WY–010–07–5440]
Notice of Availability of Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Westside Irrigation District Land
Conveyance Project, Big Horn and
Washakie Counties, WY
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS).
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969 as amended, the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) announces
the availability of the Westside
Irrigation District Land Conveyance
Project DEIS for public review and
comment. The DEIS analyzes the
consequences of a legislated conveyance
of all right, title and interest, excluding
mineral interest, of a parcel of land
administered by the BLM to the
Westside Irrigation District, Worland,
Wyoming.
DATES: The DEIS will be available for
public review and comment for 45
calendar days starting on the date the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its NOA in the Federal
Register. The BLM can best use public
comments if they are submitted within
the 45-day review period.
Any public meetings or other
involvement activities for the Westside
Irrigation District Land Conveyance
(Westside Conveyance) project will be
announced to the public by the BLM at
ebenthall on PRODPC61 with NOTICES
least 15 days in advance through public
notices, media news releases, Web site
announcements, or mailings.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the DEIS has been
sent to affected Federal, State, and local
VerDate Aug<31>2005 14:33 Jan 10, 2008 Jkt 214001
governments and to interested parties.
The DEIS and its supporting documents
will be available electronically on the
following Web site: http://
www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/wfodocs/
westside.
Copies of the DEIS are available for
public inspection during normal
business hours at the following
locations:
• Bureau of Land Management,
Wyoming State Office, 5353
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming
82003; and
• Bureau of Land Management,
Worland Field Office, 101 S. 23rd,
Worland, Wyoming 82401.
Copies of the DEIS will also be
delivered to the public libraries in the
following communities:
• Worland, Wyoming;
• Basin, Wyoming;
A limited number of copies of the
document will be available as long as
supplies last. To request a copy, contact
Don Ogaard, Project Manager, as
described below. Written comments
may be submitted by the following
methods:
• E-mail: wymail_westside@blm.gov;
• Mail: Don Ogaard, Project Manager,
Bureau of Land Management, Worland
Field Office, P.O. Box 119, Worland,
Wyoming 80401;
• Hand-delivered to the Worland
Field Office at the street address listed
above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don
Ogaard, Project Manager, Bureau of
Land Management, Worland Field
Office, P.O. Box 119, 101 S. 23rd,
Worland, Wyoming 82401. Mr. Ogaard
may also be reached by telephone at
(307) 347–5160.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public
Law 106–485 (Nov. 9, 2000; 114 Stat.
2199) directs the Secretary of the
Interior, acting through the BLM, to
convey a parcel of public land in Big
Horn County and Washakie County, to
the Westside Irrigation District
(Irrigation District), Worland, Wyoming.
Public Law 106–485 also directs the
BLM to complete an environmental
analysis under NEPA.
The Westside Conveyance project area
is located in southern Big Horn County
and northern Washakie County. The
southern end of the project area is
approximately 5 miles northwest of
Worland, Wyoming. The study area and
tract of land comprises 16,500 acres, in
Townships 92 W., 921⁄2 W., and 93 W.;
Ranges 48 N. and 49 N.
On February 22, 2005, the BLM
published in the Federal Register a
Notice of Intent to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
under the NEPA.
PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\11JAN1.SGM
The DEIS considers the
environmental consequences of three
alternatives:
• The No Action Alternative;
• Alternative 1—the legislated
proposed action transferring 16,500
acres; and,
• Alternative 2—an alternative under
which only those lands actually suitable
for irrigation and those needed for
project infrastructure, approximately
11,500 acres, would be transferred.
Alternative 2 is the BLM’s Preferred
Alternative.
After the sale and conveyance of the
land to the Irrigation District, the
Irrigation District would offer the
conveyed land for sale to qualified
individuals in parcels no less than 160
acres per individual. The parcels of land
would be specified for use to serve
agricultural purposes. The Irrigation
District would select qualified
individuals through a lottery. Successful
individuals then would be required to
be members of and their lands included
in the Irrigation District.
The law directing the conveyance of
the land specifies that acreage may be
added to or subtracted from the original
16,500 acres to satisfy any mitigation as
required in the Final EIS and its Record
of Decision (ROD). Alternative 2 would
subtract 5,000 acres in accordance with
this provision. The law further provides
that proceeds from the sale of the public
lands to the Irrigation District will be
deposited in a special account ‘‘for the
acquisition of land and interests in land
in the Worland District of the Bureau of
Land Management that will benefit
public recreation, public access, fish
and wildlife habitat, or cultural
resources.’’
The State of Wyoming Water
Development Commission (WWDC) is
joint lead agency as provided in 40 Code
of Federal Regulations 1500–1580. In
the future the WWDC would use the
FEIS and ROD in support of any future
funding decisions made by the WWDC
should the Irrigation District apply for
water supply development assistance.
Cooperating agencies in the preparation
of the DEIS include Big Horn and
Washakie Counties.
All comments submitted must include
the commenter’s name and street
address. Comments including the names
and addresses of the respondent will be
available for public inspection at the
Worland Field Office during its business
hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail address, or any other
personal identifying information in your
comment, be advised that your entire
comment, including your personal
11JAN1
 2062 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 8 / Friday, January 11, 2008 / Notices
identifying information may be publicly
available at any time. While you can ask
us in your comment to withhold from
public review your personal identifying
information, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
Robert A. Bennett,
State Director.
[FR Doc. E8–279 Filed 1–10–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA–47658, CA–670–5101–ER–B204]
Notice of Availability of Draft
Environmental Impact; Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR)
and Draft Land Use Plan Amendments/
for the Proposed Sunrise Powerlink
Project
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), together with the
California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC), has prepared a Draft EIS/EIR
(which includes draft land use plan
amendments) for the proposed Sunrise
Powerlink Project proposed by San
Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E),
and by this notice is announcing the
opening of the comment period. The
BLM is the lead Federal agency for the
preparation of this EIS in compliance
with the requirements of NEPA. The
CPUC is the lead agency for the State of
California for the preparation of this EIR
in compliance with the requirements of
the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA).
DATES: To assure that they will be
considered, the BLM/CPUC must
receive written comments on the Draft
EIS/EIR within 90 days following the
date the Environmental Protection
Agency publishes their Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register.
Future meetings or hearings and any
other public involvement activities will
be announced at least 15 days in
advance through public notices, media
news releases, Internet Web sites, and/
ebenthall on PRODPC61 with NOTICES
or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
in a variety of ways: (1) By U.S. mail,
(2) by electronic mail, (3) by fax, or (4)
by attending a public meeting and
VerDate Aug<31>2005 14:33 Jan 10, 2008 Jkt 214001
submitting written comments at the
meetings.
By Mail: Please use first-class postage
and be sure to include your name and
a return address. Please send written
comments to: Billie Blanchard, CPUC/
Lynda Kastoll, BLM, c/o Aspen
Environmental Group, 235 Montgomery
Street, Suite 935, San Francisco, CA
94104–3002.
By Electronic Mail: E-mail
communications are welcome; however,
please remember to include your name
and return address in the e-mail
message. E-mail messages should be
sent to sunrise@aspeneg.com.
By Fax: You may fax your comments
to (866) 711–3106. Please remember to
include your name and return address
in the fax, to write legibly, and use black
or blue ink.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Information concerning the Draft EIS/
Plan Amendment may be obtained from
Lynda Kastoll, Project Manager for the
BLM, at (760) 337–4421, or e-mail at
lkastoll@ca.blm.gov. Information
concerning the EIR process may be
obtained from Billie Blanchard, Project
Manager for the CPUC, at (415) 703–
2068 or on the CPUC Internet Web site
at http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/environment/
info/aspen/sunrise/sunrise.htm.
A copy of the Draft EIS/EIR for the
Proposed Sunrise Powerlink Project is
available for review at:
• BLM—El Centro Field Office, 1661
South 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243,
(760) 337–4421;
• BLM—Palm Springs/South Coast
Field Office, 690 West Garnet Avenue,
North Palm Springs, CA 92258, (760)
251–4849;
• CPUC—Los Angeles Office, 320
West 4th Street, Suite 500, Los Angeles,
CA 90013, (213) 576–7000;
• CPUC—Headquarters Office, 505
Van Ness Avenue, Room 2103, San
Francisco, CA 94102, (425) 703–2074; or
• CPUC Internet Web site at http://
www.cpuc.ca.gov/environment/info/
aspen/sunrise/sunrise.htm;
• Several public libraries in Imperial,
San Diego and Riverside Counties,
California.
• Electronic (on CD–ROM or DVD) or
paper copies may also be obtained by
contacting the BLM or the CPUC at the
aforementioned addresses and phone
numbers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SDG&E
proposes to construct a new 91-mile,
500-kilovolt (kV) electric transmission
line from Imperial Valley Substation (in
Imperial County, near the City of El
Centro) to a new Central East Substation
(in central San Diego County, southwest
of the intersection of County Highways
PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\11JAN1.SGM
S22 and S2) and a new 59-mile 230-kV
line that includes both overhead and
underground segments from the new
Central East Substation to SDG&E’s
existing Peñasquitos Substation (in the
City of San Diego). Portions of the
proposed 500-kV line transmission line
would traverse approximately 35 miles
of Federal lands managed by the BLM
within the California Desert
Conservation Area in Imperial County,
and approximately 1 mile in San Diego
County. Depending on which alternative
is selected (exclusive of the No Action
Alternative), the project would require
an amendment to one or both of the
following land use plans: the BLM’s
California Desert Conservation Area
Plan (as amended) and the Eastern San
Diego County Planning Unit
Management Framework Plan because
the route alignments would deviate
from BLM designated utility corridors in
several areas under these alternatives.
The remainder of the proposed project
would cross lands owned by various
entities including State of California,
local governments, and private parties.
The proposed transmission lines
would utilize structures ranging in
height from 120 to 170 feet, spaced
approximately 700 to 1,600 feet apart,
and would occupy rights-of-way of
approximately 60 to 300 feet in width
(subject to local conditions and
restrictions). Existing disturbed
corridors would be utilized to the extent
feasible, to minimize potential
environmental impacts. Where possible,
SDG&E anticipates locating new
facilities within or along existing rights-
of-way.
The Draft EIR/EIS evaluates and
presents the environmental impacts that
are expected to result from construction
and operation of the proposed project,
and presents recommended mitigation
measures that would avoid or minimize
many of the significant environmental
impacts identified. In accordance with
CEQA and NEPA, the Draft EIR/EIS
identifies alternatives to the proposed
project (including the No Action
Alternative) that could avoid or
minimize significant environmental
impacts associated with the project as
proposed by SDG&E, and evaluates the
environmental impacts associated with
these alternatives.
The Draft EIR/EIS reflects input by
government officials, agencies, non-
governmental organizations, and
concerned members of the public during
the two public scoping periods
following the CPUC’s publication of the
Notice of Preparation of an EIR/EIS on
September 15, 2006, and the BLM’s
publication of the Notice of Intent in the
Federal Register on August 31, 2006.
11JAN1